Experiences – Life – Inspiration 🇨🇭🇯🇵

After losing the car key at Gifu-Jo Rakuichi yesterday—something I shared in my previous blog post—I knew I wouldn’t feel right unless we at least tried to find it.

So this morning, we returned to Mount Kinka with a bit of quiet determination. Not just to revisit the scene, but to do it with intention. Before heading to Gifu-Jo Rakuichi, we first hiked up the mountain from the other side—a lesser-known trail that my mother-in-law wisely suggested. It was peaceful, away from the crowds, and gave us time to think and breathe before descending to where the key had gone missing.

When we reached Gifu-Jo Rakuichi, we searched again. Carefully. Hopefully. We checked the areas where we’d sat, walked, paused. We even stopped by the lost and found office to ask if anyone had turned in a key. But there was nothing. No key. No miracle find.

I began to accept it, more fully this time. I apologized again to my mother-in-law for misplacing it. But like yesterday, there was no bitterness in her reaction. Just calm understanding. She and Hiromi both knew—this could happen to anyone.

Luckily, there was a spare key. So we made our way to where the car had been parked since yesterday, thankful we wouldn’t have to deal with the hassle of weekend parking chaos. The spot was still there, our car still waiting. We gave the area one final inspection—inside the car, underneath it, around the parking lot—just in case it had somehow reappeared. But no. It was well and truly gone.

Still, I felt something had shifted. With every step and each careful search, I was letting go—not just of the key, but of the stress and guilt around losing it. It wasn’t the end of the world.

Maybe someone will stumble upon it later. Maybe a gardener, or staff, or a kind stranger will spot it and bring it to the lost and found. And if that happens, wonderful. If not, that’s okay too. We did what we could.

What mattered most wasn’t what was lost, but the grace and kindness that surrounded the moment—and the unexpected calm that followed it.